---
title: Does hormonal birth control affect mood and depression? | Niyora
description: Some types of hormonal birth control increase depression risk for some women, while others may actually decrease it. Age when you start and your mental health
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/hormonal-contraceptive-use-and-affective-disorders-an-updated-review-2025/
---

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- Does hormonal birth control affect mood and depression?

Review, 2025

# Does hormonal birth control affect mood and depression?

Some types of hormonal birth control increase depression risk for some women, while others may actually decrease it. Age when you start and your mental health history are important factors in whether birth control will affect your mood.

 Moderate study design

Women using hormonal contraceptives

## What they did

Reviewed research on how different types of hormonal contraceptives affect mood, depression, and premenstrual disorders in women.

## What they found

Some hormonal contraceptives increase depression risk in some women, while others may decrease it. Age at onset and mental health history predict who is at higher risk. Hormonal contraceptives may be helpful for women whose depression changes across their menstrual cycle, suggesting a premenstrual disorder.

## What it means for you

Effects vary significantly by person and type of contraceptive. Your age and mental health history matter. Talk to your doctor about your mood symptoms when choosing birth control. More research is needed to understand exactly how different contraceptives affect different women.

## About the study

Original title Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Affective Disorders: An Updated Review Authors Mengelkoch S, Afshar K, Slavich GM Journal Open access journal of contraception Year 2025 Study design Review What was tested Various hormonal contraceptive methods Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.2147/oajc.s431365](https://doi.org/10.2147/oajc.s431365)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Mindfulness and meditation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-mindfulness/)[Psychotherapy, counselling and education](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-psychotherapy/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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